Study: Profanity in PG Movies Helps Decide Box Office Success

In this photo released by Paramount Pictures, Hogsqueal helps Jared Grace spy on the wicked creatures in "The Spiderwick Chronicles." A new study by The Nielsen Co. released Thursday found that the PG-rated movies with the least profanity made the most money at the U.S. box office. (AP Photo/ Paramount Pictures)

By AP&nbsp|&nbsp

Posted: Thu 9:30 AM, Mar 13, 2008&nbsp|&nbsp

Updated: Thu 9:45 AM, Mar 13, 2008

Las Vegas (AP) Less profanity means more money for PG-rated films.

A study by the Neilsen Company concludes PG-rated movies with the least amount of profanity make the most money at the box office.

Neilsen says parents are picking PG movies for their children that have “very, very low levels of profanity,” about a one-third as much as in a typical PG film.

Neilsen says parents seem to be more concerned about the language in a PG movie than about how much sex and violence it has.

The study also looked at other early predictors of box-office success. As might be expected, movies receiving approval from more than 70 percent of critics earn far more money.

It also finds that good buzz on the internet often means more ticket sales. One genre the buzz doesn't seem to help: horror flicks.

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